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Facts and lies
Move over “emoji” and “selfie,” there’s a new word we must learn as quickly as possible — “truthiness,” which was added to the Oxford Dictionary by the American Dialect Society as the “Word of the Year” in 2005. Truthiness is a noun, defined as “the quality of seeming to be true according to one’s intuition, opinion, or perception without regard to logic, factual evidence, or the like.”
It’s a word Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s aides, should have had in her vocabulary when she created the phrase “alternative facts” to explain herself during a TV interview. She was trying hard to explain Sean Spicer’s statements about the news media being deliberately dishonest concerning crowd size at President Trump’s inauguration. Mr. Spicer, the White House Press Secretary, interjected false claims into his rant concerning crowd size. Photographs taken from the top of the Washington Monument of both Obama’s 2009 inauguration and Trump’s proved Spicer wrong. The DC Metro transport service also offered proof that Obama’s 2009 audience more than doubled that of Trump.
Why is crowd size important? It’s not. What was important was Spicer lying to the public over something trivial. He ended his tirade by declaring, “… we are going to hold the press accountable.” I only hope Americans will hold President Trump and his aides accountable for telling the truth, or at least have his aides preface their remarks with the word truthiness.
Terry Thompson
Citizen/coach
Re: “Spurs top Cavs, Popovich rips Trump,” Sports, Jan. 22:
As proud as I am of Coach Pop, I am even prouder of Citizen Pop.
John Browning
Truth to power
Re: “’Scandal’ feeds narrative of biased media,” Rich Lowry, Other Views, Jan. 22:
Rich Lowry refers to the Buzzfeed release of disturbing accusations about President Trump’s relationship with Russia, offering this as evidence of a Trump-media feud and recommending that the press treat Trump in a more typically presidential way.
The first flaw in his argument is to elevate Buzzfeed to the stature of media such as the New York Times and CNN. That’s like equating “Entertainment Tonight” with the Oscars.
His second flaw is to call the conflict between Trump and the media a “feud.” This trivializes the relationship to the level of a personality conflict when the truth is that it represents an existential threat to our democracy.
There has never been a candidate or president who has lied as much as Trump. Every speech is peppered with lies. The press bears the responsibility of separating fact from falsehood. But then it suffers Trump’s condemnation. It is Trump who creates the baseless claim of a “biased” media.
If the media backs off reporting the truth, it will enable the first American autocrat, which is apparently what Lowry wants. Truth is the enemy of tyrants. A democracy cannot function without access to the truth. I hope our media will have the courage to continue to speak truth to power. Our future depends on it.
Gary Poole
Madonna’s threat
Re: “Madonna defends anti-Trump speech,” Nation & World, Jan. 23:
This old, dried-up twit should be prosecuted for making a terrorist threat against the Trump family. Why is she getting a pass for a bomb threat against the White House, the people’s house?
Robert Richter, Seagoville
If this, if that
Re: “Need to know — not sure losers,” Kathleen Parker, Other Views, Jan 17:
This column contained “ifs, hypothetical, etc.” I was reminded of a song by Roger Whittaker, a British singer. The song is “I Don’t Believe in If Anymore.” It contains the following lyrics:
“No, you won’t believe in If anymore
It’s an illusion
It’s an illusion
No you won’t believe in If anymore
If is for children
If is for children
Building daydreams.”
We can “if” things ad nauseam.
Tony Petri
God bless America
Re: “They still remember; Aging Pearl Harbor survivors saluted,” front page, Dec. 8:
I would like to thank you for your articles on Pearl Harbor Day! Too many in our country do not bother to remember that day or other times when we lost thousands or hundreds of thousands of our military personnel and/or civilians. I am proud to be an American, and I thank God every day that I live in the USA.
I may be 90 and a World War II veteran, but if my country called me today I would be proud to serve again any way I could. When I see our flag unfurled or hear our National Anthem, I stand and salute, placing my right hand over my heart. I do not take a knee or stand to raise my arm in a Nazi salute. If individuals do not respect our flag and our anthem, the gates are always open for them to leave. May God bless and keep the USA, now and forever.
Amen,
Charles H. Trotter Sr., Willis
Puzzled
I am mystified by bahisol the enormity of the protests in the United States. The day our new leader was inaugurated, the streets filled with hundreds of thousands of protesters. He hadn’t even warmed the seat of his desk in the Oval Office.
I wonder how the world views this phenomenon. I wonder how the Chinese people feel about their dictatorship, or the North Koreans, or some of our South American friends. I wonder how the average Russian really feels about Putin’s “presidency.” I bet they had better not speak ill of him.
Well, I guess I better get busy and make my protest sign. I’m protesting the protesters.
Frank Schneider
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